From 2024: States Are Restricting Protests and Criminalizing Dissent
United States of Suppression is a series documenting the recent crackdown on dissent and protests in the U.S. This op-ed discusses what happens when protesting becomes a crime.
By Elly Page and Alana Greer
June 26, 2024
Excerpt: "Since 2017, 21 states across the country have passed new laws that restrict protests — nearly 50 in total — with dozens more being introduced annually.
"Most of these new laws increase criminal penalties for conduct, like interfering with traffic, involved in some kinds of protests. Under laws passed in states such as #Arkansas, #Iowa, and #Tennessee, protesters can spend up to a year in jail for 'obstructing' public #streets or #sidewalks, even though these are traditional venues for First Amendment-related activities. After protests against the #KeystoneXL Pipeline, 14 states dramatically increased penalties for trespassing, which would usually amount to a petty offense, if protesters enter lands with #pipelines or #pipeline construction sites.
"In many cases, these laws go further than punishing individual protesters to include the people and organizations that support them, putting organizers and community groups at risk. Under a recent law in #Oklahoma, an organization that 'conspires' with people to hold a protest can face felony penalties if the protest is deemed to be an 'unlawful assembly' — which state law defines vaguely enough to include a three-person protest that 'disturbs the public peace.' "
Read more:
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/states-restricting-protests-criminalizing
#CriminalizingDissent
#Authoritarianism #Fascism #Clampdown #CriminalizingProtest
#CharacteristicsOfFascism #USPol #PipelineProtestors #TrafficInterference #DisturbingThePeace #BogusCharges #Crackdown #SLAPPs #VagueLaws #ProtestOrganizers #ProtestSponsors #ProtestSupporters #FirstAmendment
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